Irish presence is strong in Massachusetts

While there’s a saying that everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, more than one in five people in Massachusetts can trace their roots back to the Emerald Isle all year round.

Massachusetts and New Hampshire have a higher concentration of Irish-Americans than any other state in the country. According to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 20.2 percent of Massachusetts residents and 20.6 percent of New Hampshire residents claim Irish ancestry. The difference between the two states’ estimates is within the margin of error, making the figures statistically even.

“People of Irish descent form the largest ethnic group in Massachusetts,” said Seamus Mulligan, president of the Canton-based Irish Cultural Centre of New England. “The state changed dramatically in the 19th century following the arrival of Irish immigrants. The (Irish) famine of the 1840s caused an enormous change in the demographics. The Yankees during the period hired the Irish as workers and servants and they became more assimilated into society."

The South Shore, particularly Marshfield and Scituate, is one of the most heavily Irish-American regions. In Marshfield Hills and Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock, census tracts in Marshfield, the share of the local population claiming Irish descent is 56.8 and 50.7 percent, respectively. In the neighboring Scituate census tract, 50.6 of the residents are Irish-American.

Another community with a high Irish-American population is Walpole. More than 50 percent of residents in the Walpole census tract identify as Irish-American.

In Bedford, 2,399 people out of the 13,921 residents, or 18 percent of the population are of Irish ancestry, according to U.S. Census data. While that is lower than than the state average, it is higher than most surrounding towns, including Lexington (14 percent) and Concord (16 percent). Burlington has a significantly higher percentage, with 24 percent of the population being of Irish ancestry.

Geography is a likely reason behind the strong Irish presence in Massachusetts.

“It’s sort of a direct line from the West of Ireland to the East of the United States,” said Thomas Carty, president of the Eire Society of Boston, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Irish culture and societal contributions made by the Irish and people with Irish ancestry.

Escaping famine in their homeland, the first major wave of Irish immigrants came in the 1840s. After arriving in coastal cities, such as Boston, many were too poor or too ill to travel much further inland.

“The parents worked hard and sacrificed greatly to have their children educated,” Mulligan said. “Education was the key to their success and this was accomplished by the establishment of Catholic schools and universities when the children were refused admission to the established institutions.”

Life for the early Irish immigrants was often tough.

“Boston was a very Brahmin city, a Yankee Protestant city with antipathies toward Irish as well as other immigrants,” Carty said. “One of the biggest things was opportunities for jobs. There was an expression: ‘No Irish need apply.’”

Through subsequent waves of immigration, the number of Irish and Irish-Americans in Massachusetts swelled. They eventually used those growing numbers and commitment to education to overcome early discrimination.

“Since they were large in number, the politics of the city changed because of the size of the population,” Carty said.

With a growing population, Irish-Americans began gaining power in local politics in the late 1800s and early 1900s. That influence began to open the door to municipal jobs in police and fire departments.

Doors then opened to more prominent positions in U.S. society.

“With as many as 22 U.S. presidents claiming Irish ancestry, I suspect you might say the Irish have arrived,” Mulligan said.